In his article, Immigrant Entrepreneurism: An Engine for Economic Recovery, Bowles places special emphasis on the immigrant owned businesses in New York City. Previously, we discussed that immigrants flock to areas where there are high concentrations of other immigrants just like them. Bowles mentions that in The Center’s 2007 study, neighborhoods with a high concentration of immigrants have experienced a significant increase in small immigrant owned businesses. For example, Flushing, a thriving immigrant enclave, has had a 55% increase between 1994 and 2004 (followed by neighborhoods like sunset park, Jackson Heights, Washington Heights etc.). Compared to the foreign born entrepreneurs in New York City, natives are less likely to open up their own businesses. These immigrant businesses not only help the economy by creating jobs, but they also stimulate growth in various sectors of the economy (such as food manufacturing, healthcare etc.)

Although small businesses are an integral part of the country’s economy, immigrant owners have to face various obstacles that prevent them from expanding their small businesses. As Bowles points out, these small businesses not only lack support from city policymakers but their owners also usually are less aware of rules and regulations when it comes to running a business in the United States. Language barriers also hinder these owners from expanding into the American market. Therefore, it helps them to cluster in and cater to their own ethnic community (for example, Flushing). Also, immigrant owners have to deal with expensive real estate and often; these owners are struggling to keep up with the rising rent. For example, whenever I take a trip to Jackson Heights, I always notice how some businesses are completely replaced by other new businesses. Many factors (discussed above) contribute to the foreclosure of these old businesses. Although I see many businesses shutting down, it is remarkable to see that there is always another immigrant owner willing to utilize that space. Because of this large growth in the small business sector, Bowles encourages the local government and agencies to support these businesses so that they can expand and make a significant contribution to the growth of the city’s economy.